Story by National Post •
A reader takes issue with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's get-tough-on-drugs stance, saying enforcing drug laws is a waste of police resources and a futile endeavour.
‘For a few, altering their mood in order to live is a self-coping necessity’
Re: Poilievre shows how to save people from the ravages of addiction, Jamil Jivani, Nov. 24
Jamil Jivani argues convincingly, at least hypothetically, that lived experience should be the foundation of conservative policies to fix social ills rather than left-right ideology. But when he cites Pierre Poilievre’s recent anti-drug video — in which the Conservative leader advocated ending safe-supply programs for addicts, blocking the drugs flowing into Canada and increasing penalties for pushers — then Jivani loses credibility. In fact, Poilievre’s policy is merely repeating the punitive prohibitions that were the basis of the American-led war on drugs that failed miserably.
The demanding human condition is such that for a few, altering their mood in order to live is a self-coping necessity. For these individuals drug use isn’t a lifestyle choice but part of their being alive. Scolding them for lacking moral attributes will not work. Moreover, misspending fortunes on law enforcement to deprive addicts of drugs is a waste of money — which would have been better spent targeting violent crimes — without social benefits.
Instead of prohibition, realism should be the policy driver to fix Canada’s social ills with regard to illegal drugs. Canada legalized marijuana ahead of many other western democracies and we are not worse off as a result. Portugal legalized all drugs and so far has produced better overall outcomes in lives and money saved. Unfortunately, with Poilievre’s retreat into past anti-drug policies, the Conservatives are positioned politically on the wrong side of history.
Tony D’Andrea, Toronto
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